Tag: music
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Zimbabwe’s ancient musical instruments
A recent study has been looking at identifying musical instruments depicted in Zimbabwean rock art. Rock art is found on almost every continent, Antarctica being the exception for obvious reasons. These enigmatic images have been painted, scratched, etched, outlined, sketched and drawn for thousands of years. Zimbabwean rock art is exceptional and the Matobo Hills…
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Cataloguing the collection
The textile collection is in the process of being catalogued… at a distance. The collection, currently housed upstairs in the Regent Theatre in Māwhera Greymouth, is making its way gradually into the new studios. It is an ideal time to catalogue the pieces. Each one is photographed back and front, and then details are also…
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AI and the Spotify playlist
Each week a playlist is curated on Spotify, the audio streaming platform, to go along with the blog entries. This week Spotify’s AI function has been tasked with compiling a playlist using the prompts “pop classical textiles computers nostalgia vocal choral contemporary”. This is what it has come up with. What do you think?
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AI and image generation
In researching this week’s blog entries Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a tool. Harnessing the power of data to create new images is powerful but it currently has limitations. The images on this page were created using AI. By typing prompts into the AI platform new images were created to illustrate the articles on the blog.…
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Technology
This week’s blog entries are all to do with technology. From the rise of the computer to AI, we are surrounded by technology. Some of it is useful, some is harmful. Some helps us to be more, and some has the potential to disrupt our lives and lessen them. So this week I have decided…
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The tracks on Spotify
The audio this week on the playlist features these tracks. The Cunning Little Vixen by Leoš Janáček This well-loved opera in Czech started out as a newspaper comic strip before becoming a staple of the operatic stage. The allegorical story follows Vixen Sharp Ears as she loves and lures her way through life in the…
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The Spotify playlist
Each week a playlist is curated on the Spotify platform for readers to listen to while browsing the blog. The tracks on the playlist have something to do with the blog entries, sometimes obviously and sometimes less so. To listen, click on the player above or head over to Spotify where you can search for…
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Iceland and the poetry of weaving
The Nordic nation of Iceland sits on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, midway between Europe and North America. Wild, windswept, beautiful, bleak and filled with fire and ice, the country is a romantic’s dream, an island of Vikings and sagas,… and art. While the music of Iceland is well-known, and it boasts a fine pedigree in…
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Rise Kagona
Back in the 1980s as the world awakened to what we now know as “world music” the sounds of the Bhundu Boys made centerstage. The band were Zimbabwe’s biggest export with a unique sound and energy, and one its founders passed away in September: Rise Kagona. In 1980, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe after the Independence War,…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a playlist of audio is compiled and curated to go with the articles in the blog. The tracks have something to do with the blog entries and you can read about the links in a separate article on the blog. To listen to the playlist click on the player above or head over…